GATE Thus The Frozen Wastes Consumed (Up for Adoption)
by Slynthen Advance
Summary: Earth was once dominated by human civilization, despite its many trials and tribulations, it was an advancing species on an uncaring rock floating through space. No longer. The Frozen Council is all that remains of the once great species, alone on the frozen husk of a once blossoming planet. With The Canyon of Solace at its head, what will happen when they discover the Gate?
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Canyon of Solace, and the Frozen Gate

Quilo sat at the edge of the ship as he kept a wary eye on the newest occupants of the vessel. The rabbit women didn't seem to appreciate how cautious they were, but they didn't have much of a choice. He sighed as one of them tried to break loose of their captors _again_. "Look ya wankers, if ya didn't try to break free so bloody often, we might've granted ya some leniency." They just glared back at him, and he huffed in ever-growing irritation. He got up and approached the annoyances. "Hey, Ice!" He called as he came to stand in front of one.

"Yeah?" Came Ice's reply from the bow of the airship.

"Ya mind if I make an example out of one of 'em?"

"Just don't kill or maim them. I'm not wastin' medical supplies on the vermin on top of the clothes we already gave 'em." Ice responded, his southern drawl prominent.

"Aye, aye!" Quilo waved over two more crew members in order to restrain her until he could actually fight them. After a brief moment to untie the rope, which he covered with his jacket to prevent the others from learning to do the same, the crew brought her to the side of the ship, and released her. Though not before picking up a confiscated sword to keep her at bay.

Quilo walked about five paces from her, and held up his hands in his usual boxing stance, not bothering to remove his heavy winter gear. She seemed to get the message, so she removed the coat she'd been loaned, and got in her own fighting stance; before charging at him, and jumping in the air, coming down with a kick aimed for his shoulder. He stepped to the side, grabbing her by the ankle, and threw her to the cold, hard deck; knocking the air from her lungs. He was on top of the woman before she could stand, pinning her. He could see the burning hatred in her eyes, waiting for a single mistake in his pin. It never came.

"Pathetic." He spat, tempted to break her fragile arm there and then. Ice was right, they weren't worth patching up. He roughly brought her to her feet, gesturing for the two shipmates that had helped him before. They held her in place while he got the rope, tying her hands together behind her back, before leading her to the post the rest of them were tied to, looping the rope around it, tying it again, and using what was left of the end to tie her feet together.

Several hours of silence later, and they could see the beacon in the distance. The helmsman quickly adjusted their course, targeting said beacon. It didn't take long afterward to reach the city, in the midst of a small storm that probably wouldn't last longer than a couple days. Ice turned to their prisoners, gesturing to the open canyon they were approaching. "Watch, and behold…" he started, as they drifted over the edge of the cliffs. "The Canyon of Solace awaits."

Below them, automatons were working diligently, walking between buildings, and running their designated buildings. The populace were chatting amongst themselves, going to and from work, and every so often glanced in their direction curiously. Everyone was either working or eating, judging by the line leading out one of the cookhouses. Quilo allotted himself a smirk as the women looked on in harrowed awe at the sight of so many people living in these conditions. Ice merely looked over the edge, and watched as the massive 'Big Boy' locomotive pulled out of its station, easily pushing the light snow drift off the track, likely heading to Yellow Stone.

As the scout ship touched down in its hanger at the edge of the opposite cliff face, Quilo immediately dismounted, wrangling in the ship with one of the tie-down ropes along with the ground crew. Once they had taken the agonizingly slow walk to the first post and tied it down, they grabbed the next rope and did the same, slowly making their way to the next post. The entire process took an hour at a snail's pace.

Quilo and the ground crew let themselves sink into their knees for a few moments before they got back to work, still in pain despite their best efforts. Once he had enough self-awareness, he locked eyes with Ice, and motioned him to bring down the temperature of the flame keeping the ship afloat slowly, so it could land in its dock gently. He grabbed one of the ropes, and pulled it taught, and the others followed his example. Several minutes and only one slip later, and they had it positioned low over the indentation in the floor that matched the bottom of its hull. It slowly, and gently lowered into its dock, and came to a rest, the deck of the ship level with the ground.

They could see the city nicely from their vantage point atop the canyon wall, the wood and steel structures silently warming those inside. Of course, the cold air didn't relent once they'd entered the city, having climbed down the giant staircase leading up one of the cliff faces. The temperature in the city only improved once they started approaching the generator in the residential district, the warmth exuding from the massive structure finally melting the frost that had built up on their clothing.

It only took another hour to reach the Captain's office, the women were surprisingly compliant, given their situation. Ice knocked on the door sharply, entering after a quick 'come in' was heard, and closing the door behind him. Another hour later, and Ice stepped out, motioning for them to join him in the room. It was a might cramped, Quilo mused, the room only being designed to fit five people, yet here were seven, plus the captain. She glanced up from her paperwork, and nodded, getting the gist of the situation despite the lack of information surrounding the women.

"I take it these are the mysterious mute women you told me about." She stated more than asked, her gaze coming to rest on the group in front of her. Her icy face, and frozen blue eyes betrayed nothing of her emotions; though that was why everyone respected her so much. She could make the tough decisions nobody else would, as she had proven time and time again, and remain as stoic as ever; making herself the supporting pillar everyone in the city needed. Gone was her deep violet hair, turning almost snow white with the stress she was no doubt shouldering alone, the barest hints of a light purple hue all that remained; much like everything else that came to the frozen wastes. Either changed all but beyond recognition, or gone forever.

Captain Frost Snow, she herself had long since admitted her parents had a lack of imagination, stared at the mysterious people before her. "Do you have a leader?" She asked simply. One of the women stepped forward, glancing around the room one last time. On the far wall was a grandfather clock, both the pendulum and hands seemingly made out of ice, atop a warm orange face, and bright yellow markers, all in a bronze case, with blackened steel highlights. On the wall to the Captain's left was a stuffed polar bear's head, one which she had personally killed when it wandered too close to the city; and on her right was a simple microphone which was connected to the city's announcement system.

"Since you're here, and you can clearly understand me, you have two options: either work, and work hard, earning three meals a day, a roof over your head, and on holidays a chance for social interaction, all in the shelter of the generator; or I have these men drag you back out into the wastes… to let you succumb to the ice and snow on your own time." Never once did her face twitch with even the slightest emotion, her cold gaze clearly unnerving the new women, as they shifted uncomfortably in place.

"… Do you not care who we are?" The leader finally said, glancing at the others in the room.

"Regardless of my own opinion, the Captain's decision is final." Ice said, to which the other men in the room voiced their agreements. "She's lead us through thick and thin; and will likely continue to do so for a long time yet to come." Not a twitch, from the Captain, as always, despite the man's high praise.

"How will we be treated?" The woman asked, relenting.

"If you can survive, no different than anyone else. You will be given more appropriate attire. If you grow sick or become injured, we will do our best to help you recover. If you cannot survive, than you will be buried in the cemeteries like everyone else. There will be no discrimination, regardless of who or what you are, nor where you come from. You will become members of society within the Canyon of Solace. However, just like all the other refugees, you will be allotted five days to adjust due to culture shock. Your decision must be made here, and within the next ten minutes."

She didn't seem to like that, choosing to glare at the Captain briefly, before sighing. "Can I see what laws we're expected to follow first?" She asked, frowning.

"Keep in mind that if you break any of these laws, you will be exiled." Frost said, as she calmly took a piece of parchment off of her desk, and handed it to the woman. The woman looked over it slowly, then turned to the others she was with, and spoke to them in a different language. They seemed surprised, given the widening of their eyes, and they looked to each other, continuing to speak in what was probably the same language. They seemed content with what they had decided, as one spoke up, and they all nodded, with determined faces.

The woman sighed, as she handed the parchment back, took a deep breath, and spoke. "We accept. It may turn out better than what we're used to, and we want to take that chance."

"Welcome to the Canyon of Solace, then." She said, her half-lidded eyes returning to her paperwork as she continued speaking. "Quilo, you're in charge of finding them a place to stay, and assigning a new hunting team. Better safe than sorry. Ice, I want you to remain here for the time being. Smoke, you're free to go for the day; I won't be accepting any more visitors today. Gray, I want you to fill in for an overworked foreman in the mines for the next week. Dismissed."

"Ma'am." Was the simultaneous reply from the men present as they left the room, Quilo leading the new arrivals through the city blocks.

He walked up to one of the spare Houses that they always had built, in case of the off chance they found refugees and such. "Inside ya should find…" He made a quick head count, the cold alongside his lack of sleep these past few days were finally starting to catch up to him, there were three of the strange women. "Two spare changes of clothes for each of ya, and two more on top of that. I expect that by the time you're ready to work, all of ya can speak English properly. There should also be a map of the city hanging on the wall next to the door, so memorize that as soon as ya can. Otherwise, it's all up to you. May luck be on you're side."

With that, Quilo was off, heading deeper into the residential district as the women made themselves comfortable.

* * *

"Where are Legatus Augustino and his Legion?" King Duran asked, suspiciously eyeing the messenger in the tent.

"Sir. They never returned from their venture through the second Gate. What little we do know is that those few that _have_ returned bring tales of a cold, frozen land, and a freak storm that froze everything in its path, then burring it in several feet of snow. We are still skeptical of their claims, however all of those who did return, had frozen skin, and many were missing appendages."

"Then why have no search parties been sent in response?"

"Several were, though none returned, and currently the enemy from the first Gate has control of the area surrounding Alnus hill, and therefore, the second Gate. I'm sorry to say sir, the legion is likely lost."

"That is… disappointing, and mildly disconcerting. I will look into it myself once I get the chance." He concluded, waving the messenger off.

"Understood, sir." Was the simple reply that the messenger gave, scurrying off to finish his job for the day.

King Duran watched the man leave with a troubled expression, becoming more and more concerned with how thing were going to turn out. First, the unknown enemy all but wiped out the empire's forces on the other side of the Gate, and now he had received word that another legion had all but disappeared off the face of Falmart. It was… concerning that such a large force of personnel had just _vanished_, or if the stories were to be believed, _frozen to death_ in such great numbers.

He shook his head. It was likely that they were simply held up by a particularly intense blizzard, and they had simply huddled down in a cave. They would no doubt return in a few months time at the latest. He shook his head, returning to the preparations regarding the battle.

* * *

Itami shivered as he approached the second Gate, it was genuinely getting chilly as he approached, though he couldn't deny the ominous presence he felt coming off it, either. "Hey, can I get a thermometer over here?" He called back to the personnel setting up camp, still staring at the structure. He noted that the jewel at the crown was a silver color – somewhat reminding him of ice – as apposed to the blue one above the Gate they came through.

After just a few minutes, a private came up to him, eyebrow raised. "If I may sir, why do you need one? It's a good thirty-two degrees, judging from what we measured earlier."

"I don't doubt that, it's just that I want to check something real quick." He responded. The electronic thermometer beeped as he turned it on, approaching the structure. It read thirty degrees twenty meters away, and a mere twenty-five degrees right next to it. "That's strange." He commented, the as of yet unnamed man looking over his shoulder at the thermometer with furrowed brows. Itami turned it off, and looked back. "Let the general know once you have a moment to spare; it isn't urgent news, but don't go spreading it like gossip either."

"Uh… Yessir." Was the man's response, as he took back the thermometer, and jogged back to his post. He was probably just as bewildered as Itami was, if not more so; and it was genuinely baffling to see the temperature drop so drastically in an isolated area. He rubbed his temples, one hand on his hip as he walked back to base; this was going to be a headache to deal with, he just knew it.

* * *

"It got _warmer_?" Frost asked, incredulously. It was the only emotion Ice had ever seen her express on duty. He felt on odd bit of pride swell in his chest at the sight, but kept a smirk off his face.

"Yes, mam. Possibly by as much as five degrees or so." He scratched the top of his head in confusion, it was as strange to experience as it was to explain.

Frost's eyes frowned as she responded. "I'll have to bring this up with the council during the next meeting." The Frozen Council… now that was a subject he didn't particularly enjoy discussing. They all had the best intentions, he knew – as they'd have been exiled (if they were lucky) from their respective cities if their people thought they were tyrannical, as had been proven time and time again – but they were a massive headache, as they couldn't agree on much.

They always met in the same place, a religious town by the name of New Seattle in the crags – he had been told that the port city it had been named after had been wiped off the map by glaciers moving inland early in the now confirmed ice-age they were experiencing – which was a day's journey by locomotive away, and the only things they managed to agree on is that: A) They needed to connect their cities properly – hence the railroad connection – and B) Each captain would continue to govern their own cities by themselves, regardless of the thoughts of other council members.

"Are you sure we're the closest to this odd structure?" Frost asked, as she started writing the speech she'd give the council about the thing.

"Yes, mam. It's only a few kilometers south of 'ere, just north of where the last storm hit. If the spotter would start using his damned scope, he'd be able to see it. Hell, if we wanted to, it'd probably only take a couple days to build the track right up to it." He responded, confident of himself for once.

"Alright." She responded, shaking her head. "I'll have a word with Yas tomorrow about proper procedure. Did you investigate any further?"

"Nah, just took a good, long look at it, I didn't know what it did, so I left it well enough alone."

"Go out with another scouting party tomorrow, I want you to go through, see what you can find."

"Yes, mam."

"And one more thing." She said, dropping her pen, glancing up, and looking _at_ him. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking back. "Be careful. Please." She continued, begging with her eyes.

He sighed, came back to her desk, and held her hand in his for a moment. "I promise." He smiled, squeezed, and left; letting her put back on her frozen mask of apathy as he left.

Ice Snow couldn't help but chuckle at his sister's worry. Whatever kind of threat laid on the other side of the structure, he would be sure to evaluate them long before he confronted them.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Warm Welcome

Ice sighed in exasperation for the hundredth time in the last hour. "Yes, Yas, they don't seem to be of American or European descent, nor do they seem to be wearing clothing with any semblance of warmth fit for the wastes. We can all see that." He drawled out, both from his emotions and his accent, rubbing his now sore temples with barely contained frustration.

"But how are they still alive though?!" Yas shouted at the top of his lungs. Ice promptly socked him in the gut, finally making the infuriating man shut up.

"Probably because they came through the structure you incompetent Neanderthal!" Ice yelled back, as he punched Yas in the gut a second time, who fell to the deck of the ship, groaning. "If you'd shut up for five seconds, you might've heard me say that to the rest of the crew!" The rest of the scouts winced, they knew Ice had a mean streak a mile wide from the other crews that had worked with him, but it seemed the mounting frustration was getting to him.

Ice breathed a long, deep breath, as he turned to the helmsman, simply pointing at what was clearly a recon company in the distance, pointed at himself with his thumb, and finished by gesturing to the anchor's rope lying against the side of the ship – since he had thick mittens on, he couldn't point properly. There was no way that they hadn't noticed the airship/hot-air balloon approaching them, or they were even more incompetent than the moron still picking himself up off the deck. The helmsman nodded reluctantly, adjusting their coarse so it would miss the party by mere meters, the propellers of the vehicle spinning in perfect tandem as they approached. He could only cross his fingers that the unknown men didn't misinterpret their approach, and/or decide to attack them.

* * *

"Hey, Yukio, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" A man in the usual green camouflage of the JSDF asked, dumbfounded. The sight before them had almost made them forget how cold this god-forsaken wasteland was.

"That depends." Yukio responded. "Are you seeing a small airship flying towards us at around eighty kilometers-per-hour?"

"I was going to guess seventy, but yeah."

Yukio sighed, he just knew this was going to be a long day, but he hadn't expected anything quite like this.

As the ship was about to pass them, its engines suddenly stopped, and reversed, bringing it to a stop; followed by a steel anchor embedding itself in the snow. A man then climbed down the rope attached to the anchor, clad in heavy winter clothing. He was roughly two-hundred centimeters tall, and wore thick hide pants, snow shoes – on the soles of his leather boots, and a thick coat that reminded him of the Alaskan tribes he remembered seeing a documentary of once. He also wore a thick cap atop his head over a balaclava; a thick scarf, large ski goggles, thick mittens, and a small, rounded device hanging on one side of his coat.

The man simply waved at them as he approached, keeping his other hand out to the side, palm facing them. Yukio decided to wave back, noting the biting cold would likely lead to a few of his men getting frostbite in the near future. "Hey there stranger, now what's all this about?" He shouted as he got closer, gesturing to the small campsite slowly being constructed.

Yukio was briefly surprised by the fact he spoke flawless English, but decided that it didn't really matter for the moment. He waited until he got close enough that he didn't have to shout before answering him. "Our government decided it wanted to set up an outpost on this side of the Gate."

"Government?" The man seemed genuinely confused, but shook his head to dispel the thought. "Look, I don't know where you came from, but you don't look the least bit prepared for life in the wastes."

"The wastes?" Yukio asked.

"The frozen wastes." The man nodded in affirmation, gesturing to the frozen wasteland around them. "It's all that makes up this here sorry planet."

"You mean _this_," Yukio gestured to the snow and Ice that covered the ground. "is all there is?"

"Well there's a few cities dotting the wastes here and there; but pretty much, yeah."

Yukio let his jaw drop for a moment, then felt the cold air trying to freeze his saliva, and promptly closed it. "Where are these cities located?" He asked after a moment to gather his thoughts.

"The nearest city is just a few kilometers north of here, situated in a canyon, but most are in artificial craters dug in the ice."

"Why is that?"

The man was quiet for a long moment, before speaking up. "Because of the storms." He said, voice grave.

"Storms?" Yukio asked, lips quirking. "What, you afraid of a little lightning?" He could swear he felt the man's glare.

"A short storm lasts a day." He started, still snarling at Yukio. "A weak storm drops the temperature twenty degrees, and god save you if you get caught in the bi-annual." He said.

Yukio felt his smile drop. "I find that hard to believe." He said, finally.

"Then watch you and the men with you freeze in the coming weeks." He responded. "Regardless of what we wish to believe, are you the man in charge of this group?" He asked.

"This platoon is under my command, yes."

"Then my name is Ice Snow." He held his hand out to shake, which Yukio reciprocated. "I'm the acting commander of the Demetria over there." He gestured to the airship floating silently over the group, having shut down its engines. Yukio's lips twitched upwards again, and Ice rolled his head in an exaggeration of rolling his eyes. "Yes I know my parents had the imagination of a penguin."

"Second Lieutenant Yukio of the Japanese Self Defense Force, Japan."

"Um… I guess I would be a… Sargent, maybe – I don't know – of the Solacian Scout Force, Canyon of Solace."

Yukio blinked in response, confused. "Canyon of Solace?" He asked.

Ice sighed, this was going to take a while.

* * *

"Your Majesty," A bald man, seeming to be past his prime, kneeled before the imperial throne, looking up at Emperor Molto Sol Augustus, who looked down on him impassively. "Including the dead and missing, we estimate the losses our allied nations have suffered to approach one-hundred-thousand. The remnants, bereft of leadership, appear to have scattered and dispersed."

The Emperor scoffed lightly, a small, lazy smile on his face. "Just as expected."

"However your majesty, the movements of the enemy from the Gate are worrying; and the Legion sent through the second Gate has yet to show any sign of survival."

"Even considering you seem overtly anxious, Internal Minister Marcus?"

"Yes… it's been an issue since birth."

"Very well." Molto said, sitting up straight. "Then I'll leave these issues to my right hand." He tilted his head down just enough that his own shadow covered the center of his face ominously. A motion he had practiced for years, no doubt. "More importantly, burn down all streets and villages leading to the Imperial Capital, seed poison into all the wells, and remove livestock by any means necessary. That will make whatever army they have come to a standstill, which we will take advantage of."

"A scorched Earth policy then? I fear our tax revenue will plummet in response."

"Well, it can't be helped, I suppose." He lifted his head, putting a hand to his chin, seeming totally nonchalant. "Now when should we have the garden party, I wonder… and the construction of the villa may need to be postponed."

* * *

"_This_ is the Canyon of Solace?" Yukio asked, looking down at the 'city' below him. When Ice said the place was a city, he expected something more along the lines of hundreds of buildings nestled neatly in the bottom of the canyon, all a minimum of four stories in height, and tens of thousands of civilians going to and from work. This… was less than that. There were dozens of buildings, sure, but not hundreds. They were nestled in the canyon, but they all hugged the 'generator' like it was the only thing that allowed them to survive, none more than four stories tall. And he could only guess how many people were there, but thousands was _far_ from being the correct estimate; he guessed there were only a couple thousand _at most_.

"Indeed. This here is the frontier city in the region. It's not _the_ largest city on the planet, but it's nowhere near being the smallest." He seemed rather proud while talking about the city, Yukio noted. "It's got a fairly generous population at one-thousand seven-hundred, and is just over four generations old."

"But it's so… _small_." Yukio looked down, his eyes tracking an automaton as it finished heating itself once more, before heading back to the coal thumper it was assigned. "When you said city, I expected… _more_."

"Then head to Yellow Stone, next chance you get; it's the largest city in the known world."

"How many live there?"

"Err… Last I heard, a little over a hundred and thirty-thousand, why?"

"That's it?" Yukio breathed; he looked distraught, staring down at the people who didn't seem like they could be happier. It confused Ice. Sure, there were some hard times behind them, and doubtlessly many more ahead, but it had always been this way. The struggle to survive was as natural as eating and sleeping for them. What was the issue?

"That's a _lot_ of people in one place. Neither the neighboorhood watch nor the church are able to totally keep the peace in the area, so it's got the highest crime rate in the world at present. It's a cesspool of violence and discrimination. Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't collapsed in on itself."

Yukio shook his head, honestly baffled by the Idea. He started walking down the stairs, his borrowed coat lightly flapping in the wind. "Let's just go see this Captain of yours. Maybe they can clear things up for me better." Two men from his platoon followed behind them, seeming just as depressed by the news as Yukio was.

* * *

"Yep, everything's built in such a way that it can be torn down and rebuilt twice in one day… Except the automatons. The engineers build those so they _can't_ be taken apart easily. Wouldn't want a leg falling off for no reason." The elderly man chuckled heartily, and Ranna couldn't help but smile in bemusement. As amusing as it would be to watch one of those giant mechanical creatures attempt to walk on one less leg, it probably wouldn't help the efficiency of the city if they started having to stumble their way to the steam outlets across the city, likely destroying buildings in the process.

"That _would_ be an amusing sight." She admitted to the man, a half-smile plainly visible on her face. "A three legged automaton stumbling its way through the streets, drunkenly leaning on a building every now and then." The man laughed a deep, hearty laugh, and Ranna felt her smile widen.

"We could call it the Penguin's Apprentice!" He got out between boisterous chuckles, as he calmed down. "Getting back on subject though, I'm just a simple engineer; I help build buildings when I'm needed, but usually I just sit in the workshop trying to make new things with the rest of the crew. Nothing all that special." He concluded, taking a long swig from his mug of ale.

"So how does your currency work, then?" She asked, idly scratching one of her long ears as she took a sip from her own mug.

"Currency?" He looked confused for a moment, before perking up. "Ah, you mean like money and the like. Yeah, no, we don't have any." He seemed to mull over the thought for a moment, and amended his statement. "Not in Solace, we don't." Ranna simply blinked in surprise, and seeing her face, he decided to expand his statement. "Here in the Canyon of Solace, all the materials we can get our grubby little hands on are studied, and turned into different parts for the city. Any material we don't recognize is sent to us researchers, and we study its properties, to decide what to use it for, and sometimes make new stuff with it."

"Silver, copper, and gold too?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yep, all melted down into parts. They all have pretty important uses in the machinery and electronics, so we don't spare a single ounce unless us researchers are on to something. Radios being a prime example. We didn't have any until… two, three months ago, and they're already revolutionizing everything we do." He jostled the handheld radio hooked onto the front of one of his outer pockets, on the opposite side of his personal heater. "The only problem we've found with them so far is the range is utterly garbage unless there's a relay up high, so we're going to put one such relay on the beacon during the storm in the coming weeks."

"What do they do?" She asked, intrigued by the prospect of something so small 'revolutionizing' the way they did things.

The man just grinned widely. "Me and my buddy were looking into the lower wavelengths of light and..." He noticed he had immediately lost her, and rolled his eyes in response, a more bemused smile slipping onto his face. "Think of it as a… letter, if you will; only you hear it, and it's damn near instantaneous."

"So you just… talk, and others can hear you from far away?"

"Kind-of… you need one of these," He jostled the handheld again. "to speak into and hear from; and you need to flip a switch on the side to speak, so you're not constantly broadcasting; but in essence, yes."

"Okay, I think I get it. That's rather useful." She responded, seeming rather impressed. Then again, everything in this frozen world was fascinating, and so she must've seemed easily impressed by the locals. She'd only been here a couple days, and so far, she could easily see herself integrating with their society, even if the people in purple robes frowned at her for not wanting to convert.

* * *

Yukio stared at the rather good-looking young woman in front of him for a solid minute, before realizing that he was, in fact, staring. She was a pale woman, pale enough to pass as an albino, and had rather sharp features, though she had the air of a European, possibly American, descent. He idly noted that Ice was the same way, once he took his balaclava off; only Ice seemed definitively American, if his accent was anything to go by. He would've considered the woman… pretty, if she didn't have the face of someone who had seen and done far too much in their time; and that was saying something, given that everyone here seemed to have a similar air about them, if not to the same extent as this woman did.

He shook his head to dispel any lingering thoughts, and quickly saluted her. "Second Lieutenant-" He started, getting cut off by the raising of a hand from the almost-white-haired woman.

"Ice has already explained what's going on, and who you are, mister Yukio." She stated, remaining totally apathetic, despite the circumstances. Half-lidded eyes stared him down impassively, as she kept her posture like that of a general. "I am Captain Frost Snow. Now, I expect questions from you, and in turn, I am willing to give you answers to as many of them as I reasonably can."

Yukio looked like he was slightly constipated as he thought of the best questions to ask for the moment. "Why are there so few people here?"

Frost blinked slowly, a gesture that Ice silently equated to the raising of a brow for anyone else. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question." She said, ignoring the tiny smirk that Ice was unable to suppress.

"According to Ice, the population of your 'city' is a little over two thousand, and the largest known city has a population of just over a hundred-thousand. The cities I'm used to thinking of have a minimum population of around five thousand, and when I think city, I usually think of a population in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions."

"I'm sorry, sir, but the total known human population… _here_, at least, is a little over one-million." She responded diplomatically. If it wasn't obvious already, it was clear now that the man before her was from wherever the unknown structure lead.

Yukio openly gaped at the declaration, utterly shocked. "How?" He breathed, his men behind him just as breathless. He idly regretted bringing the only soldiers in his platoon that spoke English with him on this trip.

"A number of things, really." She responded, bringing a folder filled with files up onto the desk, and beginning to flip through them carelessly. "Two major volcanic eruptions, a meteor strike, the dimming of the sun, the magnetosphere receiving a sudden boost to its strength, and probably more we don't have the equipment to measure, all unexplained as of yet, of course. If that didn't tip you off; an Ice-Age killed humanity, and this city is one of its only known remnants. Of course, there are probably more survivors somewhere south of us, but we have no means to contact any settlements that may have developed."

Yukio decided he'd had enough gaping, and steeled himself for the following conversation, grimacing despite himself. "I… see. Regardless, I'll need to take up a substantial portion of your time, starting as soon as you're free." Frost simply pushed the paperwork on her desk into two neat piles, and gestured to the seat in front of her desk.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who read the prologue. This is quickly becoming my favorite story to write of my several dozen projects, and seeing the overall positive response makes me happy. I must thank those of you who reviewed, and a certain someone who actively interacted with me to correct some misconceptions I had (even if it was a good unintentional consequence), and fine tune what I already had. You know who you are.

With that being said, I am happy to announce a new side project which was inspired by the aforementioned conversation, which will be a series that follow the would-have-been regarding the Gate. That is, what would have been if the only Gate opened between Falmart and the Frozen wastes. Without the intervention of the JSDF. **Keep in mind it will be a side project only.**

Thank you for reading. If you have any ideas/concerns or generally anything you think needs to have attention drawn to it regarding the story, don't hesitate to contact me.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Frostbitten

Augustino couldn't help but stare sullenly at the remnants of his legion. All refused to meet his gaze from within the frosty cave. Some still had blue skin, despite their best efforts, and now all of them knew the taste of… _alternative_ food sources. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but he needed to keep the remnants of his people alive and together, so they could warn the Empire not to go through the wretched Gate that led here. Which brought him back to his current dilemma. Almost everyone wanted to return home, return to their families, their friends, their comrades… but would they be welcome? With all that they had done to survive this horrid winter landscape, would anyone give a damn if they just up and died in this wasteland?

That was another thing.

Since he was but a babe, he remembered thinking of a wasteland as a desert. No food, no water, and little to nothing in between tiny settlements. That changed starting today. All those conditions rang true in this frozen land; no food beside the highly aggressive, terrifying white bears; and no water aside from the very ground they tread, though they had no way of warming said water for consumption; and no settlements to speak of. From that moment forward, he knew, the majority of his surviving forces, including himself, if they lived to speak about it, would think of these frozen wastes before the stereotypical desert when they heard 'wasteland'.

The prophecies stated that beyond the Gate would be a place beyond their wildest dreams… in all fairness, the prophecies weren't lying. This place _was_ beyond their wildest dreams… only, it was worse than their wildest dreams.

A call from the entrance guards brought him out of his thoughts, making him silently curse himself for falling so deep into his depression. "I apologize, what was it you said?" He asked, getting up and approaching the entrance.

The guard simply pointed off into the distance, a faint, orange light slowly approaching their cave. Before he could signal his men to grab their weapons, it suddenly stopped, and started moving to the side, away from their frigid cave. As the light disappeared in the distance, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Light meant people, and his men weren't ready for a confrontation.

He sighed, and went deeper into the cave, waving his men to follow. They weren't going to keel over just yet.

* * *

He whimpered as the glass windows of the house finally shattered under the stress of the storm outside. He subconsciously noted that they had lasted a full day longer than they did in the summer storm; he would tell pa when he got home from the workshop. He held his little sisters close, wrapping the both of them in whatever blankets he could find on such short notice. They had been crying since that morning, the cold having finally gotten to them. They themselves had lasted a full day longer, compared to last year's winter storm.

Mother still hadn't come home. He quickly shoved the thought to the side; she was probably held up with paperwork again, since big sis had yet to come crashing through the door, in as many tears as the twins. He had always admired how determined Frost was to become the next Captain, she had spent so much time around mother that she got her accent from her, rather than father; who had been the one to both teach them how to speak, and stayed home more often.

He tried to keep his mind busy so he could ignore the _carbon rain_ outside.

The twins started acting up again as he realized he, too, was trembling. He did what he could to calm them, but nothing seemed to work; they refused to talk, and just held onto him like he was their only hope. He quickly ran through what mother did to help them sleep when they had nightmares. The only thing he hadn't tried yet was singing, but he knew that mother had the voice of a choir, while he had the voice of a dying elk, so he did the next best thing; hummed to them until they calmed. Eira hugged Iclyn as he did.

They were still sniffling by the time he finished Beethoven's symphony, but they weren't crying anymore, so he took it as a small victory. '_Only one more hour._' He thought, his shaking body finally coming to a rest. When he started ignoring the fact that it was carbon that was falling from the sky, the pitter-patter of rain was somewhat calming. He told the twins as much, and they immediately stilled, eyes wide, as he merely smiled down at them; letting them listen to the soft sound, and soon enough, they were giggling; though he could only imagine why. They held him closer as they continued giggling, mumbling something about foxes, penguins and glaciers, and falling asleep. He watched them sleep, he wasn't about to succumb to the conditions he was born in. He was proud of his pale skin, like everyone who was born during a storm, big sis included. He let himself fall asleep shortly after the storm ended, he hadn't gotten much because of the it, and he suspected he would sleep until noon the next day.

He did.

His sisters slept longer… much longer.

Pa never returned, the foundation of the workshop he was assigned to having collapsed.

Mother had gone to the mines to free some of the workers who'd been trapped during a cave in.

She never returned, either.

…

Ice opened his eyes. His blurry, tear-filled eyes. He slowly got out of bed, drying them as he made his way to the upstairs bathroom. He could hear everyone else in the building cooking and generally getting ready for the day. He took a quick, hot shower, dried himself off, and got dressed. He stopped in front of the sink, splashing his face with some warm water.

He stared at himself in the mirror, his own eyes boring right back into him. His blue hair. His scarred, pale skin. His tired eyelids. He glanced at the shaving razor briefly; though of course he didn't need to shave, he never could grow a beard.

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time, even if he _did_ have the courage to go through with it. His family still needed him.

He still had a job to do.

* * *

Frost stared at the 'Amateur' locomotive in the Solacian station; the massive 4-8-2-8-2-8-4 – only the sets of eight being powered – rail-bound train was the pride of the Canyon. A fully insulated vehicle, with a crew capacity of two – one engineer, and one regulator – and both the torque and horsepower to pull the entire city down the track, generator and all – provided by six large boilers, two across and two long, in a triangle formation – should an emergency arise. It also had a track heating system built-in; though it wasn't needed, the tracks themselves were heated. Behind the engine were three sleeper cars, then a mail car, followed by a dining car. Behind those were six executive cars, twenty-five by six meter double-decker rail cars – two for her bodyguards, three for the new arrivals, and one for her – each comfortably seated two, with a queen sized bed, a living space, and a bathroom for each occupant – the peak of luxury, much to her chagrin. She thought she told the Council that she _didn't_ want to use the fancy cars. It looked like they had overruled her… _again_. Acting as the caboose was an observation car.

She sighed as she gestured for Smoke to start distributing their luggage in the immaculate vehicle. The thing had been _polished_. She would never understand why the Council insisted on polishing locomotives. She was just glad that Yellow Stone was likely using their dreadnought to show everyone up; otherwise she and her crew would draw all of the attention; since the Amateur was only completed recently. She sighed at the migraine that was already building.

She quickly put her mask on as she heard the door to the station open; Gray and Quilo coming in with all the grace of a Polar Bear on ice skates, carrying a trunk of emergency supplies between them; Quilo muttering curses as he set down his end of the trunk for a moment, before getting up and continuing.

"Is anything the matter, Quilo?" She asked, her voice echoing off the walls of the station. He jumped a little in surprise, as did Gray, but they both calmed after a moment, and went back to work as Quilo responded.

"The rabbits decided they wanted to work this morning, rather than listen to your orders and prepare for the trip, ma'am." Frost merely nodded; in the last few weeks, they had been helpful, yes; but seemed to have some sort of misplaced grudge against her. She could be misinterpreting their refusal to listen to orders, granted, but they were walking a thin line between valuable assets and useless baggage. If they continued to do so, Frost would likely set them free into the Frozen Wastes. "Ice said he'd hurry them along when I saw him; but he seemed a little… off today, so I'm not sure how much faster they'll be."

Frost tried not to let it bother her, but she knew Ice had his moods every now and then. It was a miracle he had lasted as long as he had, really; a full three weeks without an episode. The uptick in work was probably what was distracting him from his thoughts; the storm was just around the corner, after all.

Her own thoughts came to a halt as the Japanese Lieutenant made his way into the building, along with the two men who usually accompanied him. They openly gaped at the massive machine before them. It was an enormous, shining steel vehicle with bronze pipes, and tinted windshields; the wheels were covered by a sort of black shield, and the entire locomotive seemed to be heating up, puffs of steam periodically shooting out the massive stack at the front of the vehicle. It was an amazing sight, they had to admit, what seemed to be decades of research and part replacement going into creating the immense construct.

Once he regained his composure, Yukio spoke. "Apologies for being late, command had issues finding someone to fill in for me until I returned." He saluted her, before remembering this woman was, in fact, _not_ his superior, and putting his arm down in an almost hesitant manner.

"It won't be a problem, we're still waiting for our 'special guests' anyway." She responded, never once looking directly at him. He gave her credit, she knew how to make your problems seem insignificant. For better or worse.

It was about another fifteen minutes until Ice walked into the building, his face hid behind his usual winter attire. He moved his goggles up to the forehead of his aviator's cap. Yukio idly noted that Ice's eyes were a deep red that was uncomfortably close to the color of blood; this was the first time he'd looked Ice in the eyes, and he could already tell he wouldn't like doing so very often.

When Ranna entered the station, she stared at the train's engine, and drew in a deep breath, the smell of burning coal and ash assaulting her senses.

Ice wasn't the only person in the group that rose a brow at her odd behavior, despite being one of the few who knew her. The only one who didn't raise a brow was Frost, who remained as stoic as always. Frost simply turned back to the locomotive and began walking towards it, gesturing for the others to do the same.

The arrangement they decided on was Yukio and one of his men would take the front car, then his other bodyguard would take residence in the same car as Ranna, then the other two rabbits, followed by Gray and Quilo, then Ice and Smoke, with Frost herself bringing up the rear; just ahead of the observation car.

* * *

The Engine slowly built pressure, putting power to the wheels, and starting off with a jerk as it began to move. The heated plow on the front broke through the ice and snow in the behemoth's path easily, despite its density. There was still some fine-tuning to do; but overall, it was a beauty. Beatrice couldn't help but grin as she pulled out of Solace station, the collective work of two generations of engineers rendering the freezing cold of winter all but null against the Amateur.

Carmine took a sip of her hot chocolate, a lazy smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying the ride as much as Beatrice was, and neither could blame the other; it was almost perfect. The machine kept up with their demands on less than half power. "What do ya say we open 'er up on the pacific flats?" Carmine asked, a glint in her eyes.

Beatrice just grinned back.

* * *

"Unfortunately there was a last minute change of plans, which is why we're heading out prior to the bi-annual rather than right after." Frost explained, as they patiently awaited their meals. Gray raised a brow, but didn't comment. "There seems to have been an issue with the Red Baron's boiler, so we're going to pick up the Germans first, then head out to the Swiss, before making sure the Alejandro is in working order, and finally making our way to New Seattle. The entire trip should take a little over three weeks."

"So I take it that's why we're heading towards the storm?" Smoke asked calmly.

"Yes." Frost responded, seeming totally unconcerned.

"So how cold does it get during these storms of yours?" Yukio asked. Nobody responded for a long moment, Ranna noting the solemnity in their gazes.

"Carbon rain." Ice responded, pulling his scarf closer to his face. "Or roughly minus one-hundred-sixty-three degrees with wind chill."

Yukio gave him a flat stare. "That _must_ be an exaggeration." He decided, looking to the others at the table. He felt the mother of all chills run down his spine as he noticed the freezing glares he was on the receiving end of. He idly glanced to his mug of hot tea, wondering if it had frozen over.

"Do you realize how many of us have lost family and friends to that damned storm?" Frost asked, a deadly glint in her only visible eye. Her hair had managed to curtain itself over half her face when he wasn't looking; and the light from the oil lamp beside the table flickering over her violet-hued hair was suddenly much more ominous than previously.

"How many?" He ventured.

"Every. Single. One." She responded, getting up from her seat. "Apologies, I don't feel like having much company right now. Ice, with me." Only a nod signaled his acknowledgment. "Smoke, have our meals sent down to us."

"Ma'am." Was the simple response.

"If you don't believe us, watch the storm from the observation car." Were her parting words, a much more noticeable, sharp click from the heels he hadn't realized she was wearing following her. "If you girls have anything you wish to ask, you know where to find me." She said as she passed the rabbits, not once slowing in her deathly stride.

Yukio and his men violently shivered once she had left the car, the snap change in her demeanor disconcerting. The other three at the table didn't seem the least bit concerned with her behavior; still glaring at the man.

* * *

"… With that being said, I still believe that the best course of action should be to seize the Gate from the Japanese government A-S-A-P. We have allowed them far too much leniency already; and they have taken advantage of not only _every- single- person- in- this- room_; but of the locals of the so-called 'Special Region' – which, might I remind you, already has a name given to it by said locals; which the Japanese have continued to refuse to acknowledge." With that, President Dirrel sat back in his seat. He knew it was unlikely that the UN would come to a consensus within a week; however, he wished they would make a decision soon; they had already wasted almost an entire month debating, and it was starting to get on his nerves.

Camilla Pearson was the next person to speak, much to the surprise of those attending the meeting. "At the request of Her Majesty, I have been asked to point out that the Japanese have admitted to the discovery of a second Gate on the foreign side of the Gate in Ginza. From what our informants tell us, the Japanese discovered a world which is well over sixty degrees below freezing on the other side of the second structure; and have already begun to set up a camp on that side. This discovery would explain the request for winter gear from the Japanese military, and the urgency of said request. This would also imply that the Japanese intend to expand their influence to that side of the second structure. With Japan's choice to treat the area on the other side of the Gate as part of its own country; it has indirectly annexed the second world, on top of the first. It is the UK's decision to support the US's decision to remove total Japanese control of the Gate." She sat back in her seat, grumbling something about the Japanese and their treatment of the locals.

President Zyuganov was the next to speak, once again surprising those attending. "Russia supports this decision; as the Japanese have proven they cannot be trusted with the fair handling of the situation. However, we believe that the city of Ginza should be declared international territory until such a time as the Gate is no longer functional."

President Dong spoke next, once the Russian President had seated himself. "China Supports this decision."

And so it went, more and more leaders speaking for or against the decision as time went on. Finally, with a majority vote of six-tenths; a half-mile radius around the Gate would be declared international territory, and the UN would directly take control of the Gate; by force if necessary.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
The Chill

* * *

Yukio decided he'd had enough of the oppressive silence, and turned to the rabbits, silently looking them up and down. They didn't look like the natives of this land; they were borderline human, granted, but they were so very different from everyone else. They were very tan in comparison to the natives, who were deathly pale, and a select few were borderline albinos. Not to mention the vibrant hairstyles that the natives had and the rabbits lacked.

Another interesting note was that none of the rabbits had the eyes the natives did; none of them had seen the hardships that the people here had. They had likely seen hardship, but it wasn't the same hardship. They hadn't been in the same situations, been as desperate, seen as much. It had honestly been a jarring experience; it was like what he imagined looking into the eyes of a soldier during world war two would be like, possibly worse, and _everyone_ had it.

And yet… they didn't look the least bit bothered by it. He remembered seeing the children playing in the snow during one of his visits; making forts and having snowball fights, building snowmen and tearing them down soon after, even making snow castles; he imagined it was the equivalent to making sand castles, only they didn't have any sand. They were genuinely having _fun_ during an ice-age; not only that, but outright flourishing _despite_ it.

He shook off his thoughts, and refocused himself. These rabbits hadn't been in whatever circumstances lead to these people learning how to over-engineer a house enough to be boiling inside, and freezing outside with minimal heat loss. That meant they probably weren't natives.

He cleared his throat to get their attention, hoping they would answer his questions. "Would you mind if I asked how you got here?"

Ranna was the one to respond, as usual. "We came with the legion that was sent to invade these lands; as I'm sure you can imagine; it didn't end well."

"Legion?" Grey asked, looking confused. "All we found out there was you three. There wasn't even hide nor hair of a dozen people, let alone a hundred thousand." Yukio was silently cheering that he no longer had glares boring holes into his skull.

"There was… a storm." She confessed, looking uncomfortable. "I can only assume it was a relatively minor one, but it wiped out half our forces within an hour, and then half of what was left an hour later. It only lasted about four hours total, but it wasted away the legion to stragglers that fought each other for whatever resources remained. We left while we could, in order to avoid the infighting."

Grey decided not to comment further, but was shocked that what was probably a professional military would just send an entire legion into the thick of things. It was so reckless and idiotic that he wondered what allowed that many men to just accept such ineptitude. They had to have known it would take years to traverse the landscape of the frozen wastes with such a large number of people, and that would spell doom for anyone who attempted it. Then again, he could just be thinking that because he was so used to the terrain of the wasteland he lived in.

Just who were the morons that thought invading the wastes was a good idea?

…

"Just who were the asshats that thought this was a good idea?" Shinzo asked, aggravated.

"The UN, sir. They have announced that they believe we, Japan that is, have handled the situation poorly; and thus, have decided they will seize the Gate by any means necessary." Reiko stated, setting the appropriate folders on the Prime Minister's desk.

"That doesn't bode well." He mumbled, looking the pages over.

"They have, however, congratulated and praised our ability to act as quickly as we did, despite the circumstances, and announced they will be allowing our current forces to remain on the other side."

"That's something, at least."

"They only ask that the forces they send be informed of the situation, as well as any missions our own are currently, have been, and are planning to commence."

He sighed heavily, placing his forehead in his palm. "And there it is." He set the folder back down on his desk, reaching over to the glass of ice water he had resting on a side table. "Do we have details of the meeting yet?"

"At present, we have confirmation that the major powers almost unanimously agree that we lost our chance; however most minor powers wanted nothing to do with the situation, and those that were left tended to vote against the action to seize the Gate."

"Who came up with the idea in the first place?"

"That would be President Dirrel, sir."

"And the international zone?"

"President Zyuganov."

"Of course." He sighed again, rubbing his temples. After taking a sip from his glass, he continued. "What other countries of note voted in favor?"

"France, China, India, Australia, Germany, Spain, Canada, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Romania, Mexico, and the UK."

"The North Americans have been getting awfully friendly lately." He muttered, eyes narrowed. "Anyone of note that opposed the idea?"

"Only South Africa and Vietnam, sir. More than likely more to spite the US than actual political opinion, though."

The man sighed in resignation, rubbing his temples. "Tell them we'll hand over control, but we expect them to be respectful of the area they occupy."

"Yessir." She responded, bowing. She rose, and left his office to do exactly that.

…

As the enormous train sped along the frozen tracks, Yukio looked out the window, and watched the storm that easily dwarfed any he'd seen back home. It almost looked like a wall of clouds and snow was approaching them. A shiver ran down his spine as he kept an eye on the monstrous cold front.

Smoke had a resigned look on his face as he stared out over the landscape, like someone who was prepared to perish in the coming events. It was… haunting to watch as the others in Frost's group gained the same look, and it made Yukio all the more anxious. The only people who didn't have the same look on the train were his own men, and the rabbits, who wore strange looks that lie somewhere between horror and acceptance.

The electricity that ran through the storm looked to be a cold blue, a color he was quickly coming to dislike.

He glanced back at the rabbits, unable to sate his curiosity. They didn't talk much, but he had been assured that they could speak English well enough that they could communicate. "Excuse me." He called, focusing on them.

Ranna was the one to respond, like always. "Yes?"

"How did you get here before us, if you don't mind me asking? I was under the impression that the people here didn't have things like rabbit-folk, and the only evidence we've found of people being here before we started setting up was the frozen imperial camp that we found."

"That… was the camp of the legion we were sent with. We were their scout force." At the look he gave her, she continued. "_Were_." She repeated. "We aren't any more, the legion is likely lost anyway." She shrugged. "We weren't treated like scouts anyway, so I'm just glad that we're not in their clutches anymore." She looked down, seeming somewhat solemn. "That being said, we have lost some of our number, so we weren't spared from the storm either."

"You know," Smoke started, getting everyone's attention. "I can probably convince either Ice or Frost to send a couple scouting parties in that direction, see what we can find. If not whatever remains of the legion, then perhaps their bodies."

Yukio stared at him for a long moment, with a pensive gaze. Ranna was staring too, but there was a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes. "If you could, that would put all of us at ease." She responded, glancing back to the others among her party.

* * *

A/N:

*Sigh*

I've been stuck on this scene for far too long with minimal gains, and my inspiration for this fic has been exactly zero for months now. All I can say is that I apologize greatly, because I promised to finish this fic; see it through to the end.

I failed.

I can't express just how disappointed I am in myself; I had big plans for this going forward, and couldn't even get passed chapter three.

I'm incredibly sorry, as I've personally reassured several of those who've read this fic personally.

I do not take my failure lightly, and cannot express my frustration to its fullest.

Therefore, I'll explain what I had in mind since day one here.

1) The group would come to a halt in the furthest end of the storm; the cold having frozen the hydraulics the engine used. They would swap stories as they awaited the storm's passing, and come to a better understanding of each other.

2) They would pick up the foreign dignitaries due to troubles with their own engines.

3) Frost and her brother would explain the situation to the Frozen Council, and allow both Yukio and Ranna to explain their ends of the story, ignorant to the international situation from the JSDF's Earth.

4) The storm would pass over the Canyon, freezing the JSDF camp entirely, and forcing the survivors to find shelter, some through the gate, some in the canyon, and others finding the last of the legion.

5) The Frozen Council would give Frost the job of diplomat to the JSDF and their allies, leading to a meeting between her and Itami just as he and the rest of 3rd recon return with Pina. Rory would take note of just how hardened those from the Frozen Earth were, but ultimately disregard them in favor of the UN forces.

6) The dignitaries from the JSDF Earth find it in their best interest to allow Frost and her escorts to accompany them to a meeting at the UN headquarters, with her providing a speech about the Frozen Earth and the events leading up to its current state. Not long afterword, she would have a moment to herself on one of the beaches of New England, marveling at the Ocean and the warm breeze it gave off.

7) The UN begins demanding regular intervals of time in which they would send supplies and scientists to the Frozen Earth, much to the confused amusement of the Frozen Council, as by this point in time, radio transceivers had been installed across all the major cities in the Frozen Earth.

8) The Legion's remnants are found, and brought back through the Gate, along with the remaining survivors from the JSDF camp. The Legion's remnants are then escorted back to Sadera on board airships from Solace.

9) The attack on Sadera catches the Solacian airships off guard, leading to them being shot down by UN forces, who saw legionnaires on board. This would sour relations between the Frozen Council and the UN.

10) British scientists are sent to New London, and given free reign of the city's notes and studies on the global events that had been taking place. This would be a side-story that would take place during the main story.

11) As talks between the UN and the FC continued to dissolve, Frost would remove herself from what she would see as hostile territory.

12) An old expeditionary team from Solace returns, bringing news of a 'tropical' region near the Equator that had liquid water and advanced civilization, leading to Yellowstone loaning the FC a Dreadnought equipped with a radio transceiver in order to properly contact the nation.

13) The British scientists discover that the Frozen Earth was slowly warming; over the course of several decades, it would return to its original state, though perhaps a bit warmer than before.

14) Several exiled scientists smuggle themselves onto the last shipment of supplies to the Frozen Earth.

15) The FC gets increasingly friendly with the Empire, and begins a military, scientific, and magical exchange program.

That's as far as I got, but there you go.

Final announcement!

This story is now up for adoption! I hope that someone can take bits and pieces of what I have here and run with it.

Once more; I am sorry I couldn't follow through with my promise of finalizing this work.

For likely the last time in the history of this fic, I thank you all for reading.


End file.
